Our minimal intervention winemaking style symbiotically relies on the exceptional quality of the fruit grown by the vineyard team.
Our 34 hectare vineyard on Crawthorne Farm, north-east of Dorchester in rural Dorset, sits on 300m of ‘belemnitic’ chalk from the Cretaceous era. This particularly pure, porous chalk is some of the finest in the country. It acts like a sponge, draining away and storing water in the west of England’s rainy Atlantic spells, and releasing it again in dry periods. This, and its influence on the palate of our wines make it a vital component of our style.
England is undoubtedly one of the more challenging regions to grow wine grapes, particularly those that we know to produce the best quality sparkling wines in cooler climates. We choose to be proactive and targeted in our vineyard management, which in turn minimises chemical intervention. We are diligent in managing the vines’ canopy, regularly trimming and stripping leaves to maintain airflow in the rows. This meticulous attention to detail is how our vineyard manager Becky Bowyer and her team consistently produce such top quality fruit. As the old adage goes, ‘you can make bad wine from good grapes, but you can’t make good wine from bad grapes.’
With 2024 seeing the final planting of ‘Ansty’ vineyard, we now have 34 hectares (84 acres) and over 100,000 vines planted. With each vine needing pruning, tying down, bud rubbing, wire lifting, tucking in and harvesting by hand, this adds up to more than 500,000 personal interactions by the vineyard team and contract workers throughout the year. This level of detail and intimate knowledge of the vines allows Becky and the vineyard team to monitor and manage the vineyard in the best possible way.
